From Thursday, November 30 through Saturday, December 2, the Columbus, Ohio, chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-Columbus) organized two crisis response trainings and three women’s self-defense trainings. The trainings, which were attended by 200 people over the three-day period, were conducted by Nezar Hamze, the Deputy Director of CAIR-Florida.
Hamze covered a wide array of topics including how to use self-defense weapons, such as pepper spray, and during the women’s self-defense trainings, taught participants hand-to-hand self-defense tactics.
“Muslims have increasingly become the target of hate crimes in today’s political climate,” said CAIR-Columbus Executive Director Jennifer Nimer. “It is critical that our community be prepared to defend itself if necessary. We were glad to see that these trainings were so well attended and that participants learned a great deal from them.”
CAIR-National reported back in Summer 2016 that the number of hate crimes in the first half of 2017 spiked 91 percent compared to the same period in 2016, which was the worst year for such anti-Muslim incidents since the civil rights organization began its current documenting system in 2013.
Ohio Muslims who have been victims of violent crime and other forms of discrimination should contact CAIR-Columbus for assistance by filing an incident report online at: https://www.cair-ohio.com/
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. The CAIR-Ohio affiliate has three chapters in Ohio – Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati. Their mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding